Weatherford International (NASDAQ:WFRD) Price Target Cut to $97.00 by Analysts at Raymond James

Weatherford International (NASDAQ:WFRD) had its price objective trimmed by Raymond James from $107.00 to $97.00 in a report published on Friday morning,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has a strong-buy rating on the stock.

Several other research analysts also recently issued reports on WFRD. Evercore ISI cut their price objective on Weatherford International from $149.00 to $142.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, October 24th. Benchmark reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $155.00 price target on shares of Weatherford International in a report on Thursday, October 24th. Barclays decreased their price objective on Weatherford International from $147.00 to $105.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, December 18th. The Goldman Sachs Group lowered shares of Weatherford International from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and reduced their target price for the company from $132.00 to $98.00 in a report on Friday, December 13th. Finally, Bank of America lowered their price target on shares of Weatherford International from $145.00 to $130.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Monday, October 14th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, five have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $109.88.

Weatherford International Stock Up 2.3 %

WFRD stock opened at $66.85 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 2.80, a quick ratio of 1.49 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.26. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $71.68 and its 200 day moving average price is $86.45. Weatherford International has a 52 week low of $60.45 and a 52 week high of $135.00. The company has a market cap of $4.86 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.95, a P/E/G ratio of 1.48 and a beta of 0.60.

Weatherford International (NASDAQ:WFRD) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The company reported $1.50 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.80 by ($0.30). Weatherford International had a net margin of 9.18% and a return on equity of 40.65%. On average, research analysts expect that Weatherford International will post 6.14 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Weatherford International Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, March 19th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 21st will be given a dividend of $0.25 per share. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.50%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 21st. Weatherford International’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 14.88%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, EVP David John Reed sold 4,762 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, January 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $72.66, for a total value of $346,006.92. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 11,109 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $807,179.94. This trade represents a 30.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, EVP Scott C. Weatherholt sold 44,505 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, January 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $66.17, for a total transaction of $2,944,895.85. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 125,019 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,272,507.23. This trade represents a 26.25 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 1.60% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Weatherford International

A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. HighTower Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of Weatherford International by 16.7% during the 4th quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC now owns 8,676 shares of the company’s stock valued at $621,000 after buying an additional 1,243 shares during the last quarter. Cooke & Bieler LP acquired a new position in Weatherford International during the 4th quarter worth $17,703,000. Moran Wealth Management LLC increased its position in shares of Weatherford International by 11.8% in the 4th quarter. Moran Wealth Management LLC now owns 6,260 shares of the company’s stock worth $448,000 after purchasing an additional 661 shares during the last quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank raised its stake in shares of Weatherford International by 4.6% in the 4th quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 18,803 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,347,000 after purchasing an additional 821 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Amundi lifted its position in shares of Weatherford International by 154.7% during the fourth quarter. Amundi now owns 38,993 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,813,000 after purchasing an additional 23,685 shares during the last quarter. 97.23% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Weatherford International

Weatherford International plc, an energy services company, provides equipment and services for the drilling, evaluation, completion, production, and intervention of oil, geothermal, and natural gas wells worldwide. The company operates through three segments: Drilling and Evaluation; Well Construction and Completions; and Production and Intervention.